International Football
Again, Super Eagles take on Saudi Arabia as preparation for World Cup match
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
For the second time ever, Nigeria’s Super Eagles will play against their Saudi Arabian counterparts in a friendly duel on 13 October.
Both teams have played similar friendly match at Alpenstadion, Austria on 25 May 2010 as part of the Super Eagles’ build-up to the World Cup in South Africa.
The encounter ended goalless. This time around, both will meet again at Portimão, in Portugal, the home country of Nigeria’s manager, José Peseiro.
The Estadio Municipal de Portimão, in the Algarve, is the home ground of Portimonense S.C. and can seat close to 10,000 spectators.
While the encounter 13 years ago was a prelude to the World Cup finals, this time, it is a prelude to World Cup qualifying series.
This clash is coming barely a month before the three-time African champions, play a home game against the Crocodiles of Lesotho.
Within the same FIFA window in November, the Super Eagles will play their second match of the qualification series, away to the Warriors of Zimbabwe.
Saudi Arabia’s Green Falcons will play Mali’s Eagles at the same venue four days later.
The most remarkable clash between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia remains the opening match of FIFA U20 World Cup (then known as FIFA World Youth Championship) in 1989, in which second half goals Chrstopher Ohenhen and Mutiu Adepoju steered Nigeria to a comeback 2-1 victory over the host nation in Riyadh.
The highpoint of the 1989 match was the second and winning goal scored by Christopher Ohenhen.
The goal fired from a 15 metre spot kick was not just the first of three similar goals that Ohenhen scored in the series, it was a milestone goal, the 500th since the Under 20 championship began in 1977.
Well-travelled Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte has been named as Guinea’s new coach, less than a month before their next round of World Cup qualifiers.
Duarte, 56, has twice previously coached Burkina Faso and taken charge of Gabon and Togo, while also coaching at clubs in Portugal, France, Tunisia, Angola and Saudi Arabia.
Guinea’s football federation gave no contract details when they made the announcement on Monday, but said they would be looking for Duarte to “restructure their national team”.
Guinea trail leaders Algeria by eight points in their World Cup qualifying group with four games remaining, leaving them with only a slim chance of qualification.
They play Somalia away on September 5 and then Algeria at home on September 8 in their next two qualifiers although a stadium ban means Guinea have moved their home game to Casablanca, Morocco.
-Reuters
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Veteran coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.
The 73-year-old announced three years ago that he was suffering from prostate cancer, but told a Dutch television talk show, “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.”
When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Dutch national team, but he has not worked since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
“Two years ago, I had a few operations. It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that’s going well. I’m getting fitter and fitter,” he said.
Van Gaal, whose career has included stints at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, reiterated a lack of interest in returning to club management but said becoming the national coach of a top-tier country could tempt him back.
He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.
-Reuters
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In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.
This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.
The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.
Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.
As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.
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